The spring season calls for celebration—Easter, Mother’s Day, wedding showers, baby showers, birthdays, and more. For many, the best way to celebrate in the springtime is with everyone’s favorite meal mashup, brunch. If you’re feeling like you don’t want to miss out on the celebration, but also don’t want to sacrifice safety, we’ve got some tips for hosting brunch outdoors so you can keep your distance while enjoying everything you love about this spring-perfect meal.

Set Up the Space

No matter if you’re working with a yard or a patio, you’ll want to plan out where you’ll seat your guests ahead of time. It’s a good idea to keep distance between seats even though you’re outside, and seat households together if you can. Make sure there’s enough space at the table to accommodate the guests and their plates and glasses. You could also skip seated dining altogether, and instead use one table for single-serve appetizers and beverages, and provide less seating so guests can stand, mingle, and practice social distancing while they sip and snack. Either way, it’s important to make sure that everyone can feel comfortable and enjoy brunch without worrying about safety.

You can brighten up the space with spring décor and make your yard or patio feel extra inviting. Flowers, brightly-colored tablecloths, or paper garland or lanterns can add a festive touch for your celebration. You can also add in occasion-specific decorations for a nod to the reason why you’re celebrating, whether it’s for Mother’s Day, Easter, a wedding shower, or a birthday. Just make sure not to go too overboard, you want to provide enough room for your guests to spread out without disturbing the décor!

To help everyone gather safely, ensure there is plenty of soap in the restroom, paper towels for drying hands, and also keep some hand sanitizer handy outdoors for guests to use between eating or whenever they feel like they want to freshen up.

Prep & Serve Your Meal

For both ease and safety, it’s a good idea to skip the buffet or family-style brunch and choose individual-servings or things that are pre-plated or grab-and-go style appetizers. An added bonus is that choosing make-ahead foods will make hosting much easier for you, since you’ll be able to spend more time at your gathering instead of cooking inside away from the party.

Mini quiches or pastries, sandwiches or bagels guests can easily serve themselves, or pre-assembled fruit bowls and yogurt parfaits are all great picks to add to your menu. Or, you could assemble individual-sized charcuterie cups or mini boards so each person gets their own little meat and cheese spread to enjoy.

Brunch calls for plenty of beverages, too! You can help avoid accidental swapping by labeling guests’ cups or glasses ahead of time, or provide them with markers or glass charms so they’ll know which belongs to them once they start sipping.

Set out carafes of coffee, iced tea, water with lemon, or juice for guests to enjoy. Or, if it’s a little cooler outside, you can provide hot water and individual tea bags so guests can warm up with a soothing sip. Don’t forget lemons and honey so they can customize their cup!

If you’re looking to serve an option with alcohol, you can’t go wrong with a mimosa. This classic brunch pick is refreshingly delicious, and you can make it extra fun by creating a DIY mimosa bar. Or, keep it easy and straightforward by providing a few different kinds of wine that will go great with the food you plan to serve.

And don’t forget the sweets! Personal desserts that are easy for guests to grab and dig into are perfect for brunch. We like cupcake jars from Wicked Good Cupcakes. They’re delicious, look great on your table, and there’s practically no mess. Order a variety of jars, and each guest can choose their favorite flavor.

Brunch is a great way to make memories and enjoy delicious food with those you care about most. To get gift inspiration and entertaining essentials, check out hickoryfarms.com!

 

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